Washington, DC (March 17, 2020)—Growth Catalyst Partners (GCP), a leading middle market private equity firm, has partnered with former CEO of Hanley Wood and B2B information and data industry veteran, Peter Goldstone, to acquire a controlling stake in Atlantic Media’s Government Executive Media Group (GEMG). GEMG is the market-leading digital media, information, and intelligence company serving government leaders and contractors. Atlantic Media Chairman and Owner David Bradley has owned GEMG since 1997. Bradley will continue as a Board Member and prominent investor in Government Executive Media Group, while Goldstone will serve as Chairman of the Board. Tim Hartman (CEO), Connie Sayers (President) and Tom Shoop (Editor-in-Chief) will continue to lead GEMG going forward.  

Government Executive Media Groups's four leading digital brands actively engage with more than two million federal, state, and local government executives, as well as over 200 of the largest private-sector vendor partners via editorial content, digital insights and intelligence, live and virtual events, marketing services, and proprietary research. The company’s editorial brands include Government Executive, Nextgov, Defense One, and Route Fifty. GCP is providing additional equity capital in full support of GEMG' strategy to invest in, acquire, and form strategic partnerships focused on complementary editorial brands, proprietary data, and events. These strategic moves will also drive the company forward in building the market-leading data-driven platform that supports government executives and contractors by providing data and transparency that supports their decision-making around government programs.

“2019 was the strongest year in Government Executive’s 50-year history,” said David Bradley. “But, now it seems almost certain that the enterprise stands at the threshold of its most-ambitious, most-ascendant hour. The advantage of scale—of the full range of services offered across the nation’s whole geography—is compelling.”

GCP’s deep expertise in information, data, marketing, and tech-enabled business models, coupled with Goldstone’s intimate knowledge of GovExec and its industries served (having served as President of GEMG before taking over as CEO of Hanley Wood), provides an ideal partnership framework for GEMG management to accelerate growth and enhance the company’s strong existing offerings. “This new partnership is going to fuel our growth and enable us to make investments in new products and strategic acquisitions, and author new groundbreaking industry partnerships, all as a fast-moving, independent company,” said Tim Hartman, CEO of GEMG.

Scott Peters, co-founder of Growth Catalyst Partners, said “GEMG has all of the qualities we look for in companies including a strong management team, a proven portfolio of leading products and services and an excellent reputation in their sector. GCP seeks to build middle market leaders in large, fragmented industry sectors with high growth potential and GEMG is an ideal example. We are excited to partner with Peter Goldstone, Tim Hartman ,and the team to strengthen their footprint and market share in the public sector and build-out more services through organic growth and acquisitions.”  

“Partnering with GCP and the GEMG team presents an ideal opportunity for me to leverage a career of experience into a very exciting market partnership. This enables us to bring together capital, complementary skill sets and an extraordinary team in a market that is perfect for our investment strategy,” commented Goldstone. 

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About Government Executive Media Group

Government Executive Media Group (GEMG) is dedicated to providing federal, state, and local government leaders with trusted and useful insights and best practices to help them advance their organizations’ missions. Through its market-leading publications Government Executive, Nextgov, Defense One, and Route Fifty, GEMG reaches nearly two million government influencers nationwide each month across digital, print, and event offerings.

About Growth Catalyst Partners

Growth Catalyst Partners (GCP) is a middle-market private equity firm focused on information, marketing, and tech-enabled services businesses. GCP’s strategy involves targeting growth segments of industries and identifying market-leading companies with breakout potential. GCP partners with top executives within those industries and provides capital and expertise to the incumbent management teams of the targeted businesses. GCP was founded by veteran private equity investor Jim TenBroek and leading investment banker Scott Peters, who have led hundreds of transactions and successful investments in services businesses for over 20 years. For more information, visit www.growthcatalystpartners.com. 

About Atlantic Media

Atlantic Media, led by David Bradley as Chairman and Michael Finnegan as President, owns and operates National Journal Group and The Atlantic (Emerson Collective is the majority owner of The Atlantic).

Media Contact
Liz Stein
lstein@govexec.com | (240) 461-3053